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Jason Theler
From Ballotpedia
Jason Theler is running in a special election to the Aspen Peaks School District school board to represent Seat 7 in Utah. He is on the ballot in the special general election on November 4, 2025. He advanced from the special primary on August 12, 2025.
Theler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jason Theler was born in Normal, Illinois. He graduated from Shenendehowa High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1997, a graduate degree from the University of Phoenix in 2001, and a graduate degree from Brigham Young University in 2005. His career experience includes working as an educator and administrator.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Aspen Peaks School District, Utah, elections (2025)
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Special general election for Aspen Peaks School District school board Seat 7
Stephanie Jones and Jason Theler are running in the special general election for Aspen Peaks School District school board Seat 7 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Stephanie Jones (Nonpartisan) | ||
 | Jason Theler (Nonpartisan)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for Aspen Peaks School District school board Seat 7
Jason Theler and Stephanie Jones defeated Michael King and Pamela Engles in the special primary for Aspen Peaks School District school board Seat 7 on August 12, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jason Theler (Nonpartisan) | 48.5 | 1,426 |
| ✔ | Stephanie Jones (Nonpartisan) | 21.0 | 616 | |
 | Michael King (Nonpartisan) | 17.3 | 507 | |
| Pamela Engles (Nonpartisan) | 13.2 | 389 | ||
| Total votes: 2,938 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Meagan Christensen (Nonpartisan)
- Megan Miller (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jason Theler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Theler's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a long-time resident of American Fork and a lifelong educator. I’m running because I care deeply about students, I recognize the importance of strong parent and community ties, I bring a proven record of educational leadership, and I have the time and commitment needed for this vital work.
I've spent the last 29 years serving as an educator—as a classroom teacher, curriculum coach, principal, district administrator, and now as a BYU McKay School of Education faculty member. Nurturing students, partnering with parents, and supporting teachers have been my goals and I've pursued all three of them successfully. Furthermore, I opened a brand new school, so I appreciate the problems and possibilities that come with creating something complex from scratch.
I am married to my amazing wife, Jaime, and we have three adult children who are loving and caring people. I enjoy running, hiking, camping, following BYU sports and the Utah Jazz, and playing board games in my free time.- HELP CREATE A SYNERGISTIC SCHOOL BOARD that engages in robust, respectful dialogue focused on promoting student success, partnering with parents, and supporting high-quality teaching and that models collaborative decorum for all other entities within the district.
- RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO STAKEHOLDER INPUT so community values, parental expectations, teacher needs, and legislative directives are thoughtfully weaved into student-success goals and strategically aligned with district policy, budget, and curriculum decisions.
- APPOINT A GREAT SUPERINTENDENT AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR to facilitate the effective and efficient day-to-day governance of district affairs, lead efforts to find, implement, and monitor the best educational and fiscal practices, and provide district schools and departments with sufficient training and resources to pursue stated objectives.
Creating reliable, but flexible, systems and structures that assess student achievement, provide fiscal oversight, maintain safe school environments, monitor adherence to district policies and legislation, and identify areas for improvement.
I look up to my parents and grandparents. They were/are hardworking, kind people with an appreciation for integrity and resilience. I try to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be kind, compassionate. and honorable.
Love Your Enemies
Collaboration, honesty, empathy, goodwill, and moderation are crucial for effective governance. Avoiding defensiveness, hyperbole, and contentious debate are also good virtues for public service.
I highly value and aspire to practice the important dispositions of collaboration, honesty, empathy, goodwill, and moderation–qualities that are crucial for effective teamwork. I also do my best to avoid defensiveness, hyperbole, or contentious debate.
Generally speaking, school board members should help all those in the community maintain their focus on what's best for students. More specifically, and based on what is spelled out in Utah code, school board members should:
- 1) create a school board culture that engages in robust, respectful dialogue that promotes student success, partners with parents, and supports high-quality teaching and that models collaborative decorum for all other entities within the district.
- 2) receive and respond to stakeholder input so community values, parental expectations, teacher needs, and legislative directives are thoughtfully weaved into student-success goals and strategically aligned with district policy, budget, and curriculum decisions.
- 3) appoint a great superintendent and business administrator who facilitate the effective and efficient day-to-day governance of district affairs, lead efforts to find, implement, and monitor the best educational and fiscal practices, and provide district schools and departments with sufficient training and resources to pursue stated objectives.
- 4) ensure district accountability by creating reliable, but flexible, systems and structures that assess student achievement, provide fiscal oversight, maintain safe school environments, monitor adherence to district policies and legislation, and identify areas for improvement.
I would like people to say I was kind, understanding, and hardworking. I hope that people will remember me as someone who never let a problem to be solved be more important than people to be loved.
Climbing trees in our backyard in San Jose, California, at the age of 4.
Working in the "recycling" center of a grocery store in Upstate New York. Customers could bring plastic, glass, and aluminum bottles and cans into the store for recycling and a small store credit. I worked there for 2 years during high school. (My older brother and I also shared a paper route and mowed lawns during my early teenage years.)
Lord of the Rings because they are well written and they underscore values such as courage and compassion.
Indiana Jones, because he was smart, had the right amount of grittiness, and he got to go to cool places.
Danger Zone, by Kenny Loggins
Trying to find a balance when deciding whether to lean more towards justice or mercy in various situations.
Help everyone in the school community maintain their focus on student success, partnering with parents, and supporting district employees.
Students, parents, district employees, and community members.
Seek input from all stakeholders and research best practices, so the the district policy, budget, and curricular decisions can be aligned to community priorities. (Tough decisions will have to be made since resources are finite, but the priorities of the district should align with the priorities of the school community.)
As a principal and district administrator, I always sought and welcomed a wide array of input and then tried to use moderation, common sense, and open communication to make decisions. The input of students, parents, and teachers is of high value.
Good teaching if far more than just the effective delivery of content. It involves finding and implementing best practices so a teacher can create a positive and engaging learning environment, foster student growth, and adapt to individual student needs. Effective teachers are knowledgeable, passionate, and empathetic, using a variety of strategies to help students learn and succeed. Good teachers love their students and they partner with their colleagues and with parents to relentlessly pursue student growth.
A multi-faceted approach should be used to assess good teaching, including classroom observations, student feedback, parent input, and, most importantly, by measuring how well students are learning essential curricular outcomes.
A multi-faceted approach should be used to assess good teaching, including classroom observations, student feedback, parent input, and, most importantly, by measuring how well students are learning essential curricular outcomes.
This question would be better addressed once stakeholder input is received, so community priorities and legislative expectations can be aligned. Teachers teach the core and the core is dictated by legislation working in conjunction with the State Board of Education. That being said, investigating and pursuing opportunities for students to engage in technical/trade training, apprenticeships, and "digital occupation" preparation is an important.
There are three main avenues I would pursue:
- 1) seek to maximize the use of current funds by removing inefficiencies and unnecessary redundancies
- 2) advocate for increased support from the state legislature (since that is where most school funds come from).
- 3) find community/business partnerships and grant opportunities that allow pilot programs to be tried and that offer supplementary support.
Safety at school has physical, social, and emotional components. Students, staff and visitors need to feel safe, respected, and valued. Some of the dynamics schools should regularly assess and address are:
1) bullying and discrimination of any kind
2) access to mental health services, such as counseling
3) use of positive behavior supports and interventions (that consistently celebrate or intervene according to student behavior dynamics)
4) locking doors, monitoring entrance/exits points, and "hardening" building as appropriate
5) intelligent use of security cameras
6) creation, and regular practice, of comprehensive emergency plans--lockdown procedures, evacuation routes, communication strategies, etc.
7) partner with parents, local law enforcement, and other community stakeholders to enhance school safety
8) implement protocols for threat assessment to address potential threats before they escalate
School nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists receive specialized training and can be very adept at recognizing, understanding, and intervening when students, faculty, and staff are in distress. When working with students, these school support staff should partner and collaborate with parents.
What do you do if you get swallowed by an elephant?
Well, they have big stomachs, so you just start running around inside. And you keep running and running and running...until you are pooped.
Well, they have big stomachs, so you just start running around inside. And you keep running and running and running...until you are pooped.
I would like to hear a great deal of public input, compare it with legislative expectations, and see what kind of consensus can be built by the new school board before inserting many of my own personal opinions.
Several current board members, many school administrators, lots of neighbors. I am rolling them out over my Facebook page over the next couple of weeks.
When students feel connected to their school, they want to come to school. This connection might be to a teacher, or an innovative program, or an extra-curricular opportunity, or to content areas they are interested in. These connections are more likely to occur in a school when high-quality teacher and staff are nurturing and fair and when school structures and systems are safe and supportive. Schools should seek to foster both academic and personal growth and be a place where students feel comfortable taking risks, collaborating with peers, and developing a strong sense of belonging.
For the most part, our district effectively tried to "thread the needle" during the pandemic. The fact that some people thought we did too much and others thought we didn't do enough is a good indicator that moderation was practiced when deciding whether interventions should have been global or addressed on a "case-by-case" basis.
Visit school functions, be welcoming at board meetings, maintain an online presence, host community input events, etc.
Teachers thrive when they are able to learn from each other and then see this new learning positively impact student learning and success. So, while a competitive salary and benefits are important to attract teachers, a collaborative culture, excellent professional development, and sufficient resources to do the job are what keeps teachers coming back.
Trust dies in darkness, so be clear about goals, own mistakes, and celebrate successes.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 27, 2025
